Interview: Marie Kondo, Japan’s superstar tidying guru, tells the
Telegraph how Shintoism influenced her methods - and how life with a new
baby has not dented her devotion to order

She has revolutionised underwear drawers around the world, likes to thank belongings for their service before binning them and crusades to end the “cruelty” of balling up socks.

Now Marie Kondo, Japan’s superstar tidying guru, feels she has a mission that goes beyond undergarments: “My goal is to organise the world," she says. "This is my task in this world, I believe.”

Kondo, 31, has already taken a big leap towards winning the war she is waging against global clutter with the singular anti-mess manifesto outlined in her first book.

More than five million copies of the not-so-minimally titled The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organising have been sold in 40-plus countries, making it one of the biggest surprise hits of the publishing world in recent years.

Kondo’s decluttering star is likely to shine even brighter following the release of her second book in English – Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying.

Marie Kondo has revolutionised underwear drawers around the world Photo: Natsuno Ichigo

“It is an in-depth, illustrated manual on how to declutter and organise specific items throughout the house, from kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and more,” Kondo explains. “This is more for the advanced decluttered readers, showing them how to keep their home tidy and neat all the time.”

Seemingly tapping into a global ennui with over-consuming disposable products, the method has prompted a global army of devotees to transform their homes into minimal, Japanese-inspired havens and filled numerous charity shops with unwanted clutter (after thanking them for their service).

Further testimony to her popularity is the unofficial creation of a new verb (“I’m Kondoing my cutlery drawer”) as well as Kondo’s recent inclusion in Time magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2015.

From the book 'Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying' by Marie Kondo and published by Vermilion

The new book builds on Kondo’s original anti-mess techniques, providing a more in-depth manual on decluttering through different areas of the home, with illustrations showing how to fold various items of clothing and an impassioned plea to store kitchen sponges away from the sink.

For Kondo, who lives in central Tokyo with her husband and six-month-old baby daughter, the allure of all things clean and tidy dates far back into her childhood.

After poring over housewives’ magazines from the age of five, she started her journey into tidying at 15 when she worked her way through her own bedroom before moving on to her siblings' rooms.

'I loved visiting Shinto shrines when I was a little girl and I served as a Shinto maiden while I was at university'

The following year she reportedly suffered what she has described as a “nervous breakdown”, resulting in her passing out for two hours – after which she woke up with a clear vision that she should simply keep items that enlighten her life rather than focus on what to discard.

“To minimise one’s belongings and use selected items with joy and respect sounds like Zen philosophy,” Kondo told the Telegraph. “Also treating things as if they are living beings, this must be very unique to people from other cultures.”

She added: “I loved visiting Shinto shrines when I was a little girl and I served as a Shinto maiden while I was at university. I didn’t practise Shintoism deeply but it has an influence on my tidying method.

From the book 'Spark Joy: An Illustrated Guide to the Japanese Art of Tidying' by Marie Kondo and published by Vermilion

“In Shintoism and in shrines, tidying and cleaning are regarded as mental cultivation and spiritual training. I suggest people develop their home as if it is their own shrine, which is a power spot to its residents.”

However, Kondo is keen to emphasise that problems relating to tidying and decluttering the home – as well as the fruits of her techniques – are unequivocally universal.

“But I don’t think the tidying skills and tidying approaches necessarily have a link to our culture and tradition.

“In fact, I have many clients in Japan, and met many Japanese people who have trouble tidying their home, and when I go to western countries like the US and France, I hear exactly the same problems from people living in those countries. It is a universal problem.”

She added: “If you are surrounded only by the items which you really love, you will feel the joy and happiness coming up from the bottom of your heart.

“When you are satisfied with your living environment, you become positive and filled with ambition. Also, if a home is tidy, it’s easy to finish daily cleaning. I think this is a universal truth.”

Marie Kondo at work Photo: Natsuno Ichigo

For Kondo, it’s clear that the biggest reward of her work is seeing its positive impact on people’s lives, as she recalls how one mother described at a bookstore event in New York how her nine-year-old autistic son’s communication skills improved significantly after she decluttered their home.

“I cannot tell you how much this story made an impact on me and I think also on many in the audience,” she said. “I have heard many stories of the changes in people’s lives when they read my books, but I consider this to be an example of one of the most profound changes my book has caused in the lives of my readers.”

Her readers are not the only people experiencing profound changes in their lives over the past year: in addition to becoming so famous that she is now recognised in the streets and in supermarkets in Japan, Kondo also recently became a mother, with the birth of her daughter last July.

'My daughter is still very small, not even a toddler, so she doesn’t make a mess by herself'

She insists, however, that even the arrival of a baby – not traditionally the most conducive presence to maintaining a tidy household - has failed to dent her iron-clad devotion to avoiding clutter and messiness.

“Before I gave birth to my baby daughter, I finished all my tidying sessions together with my husband in order to make enough room for my baby items,” she says.

“My home is as tidy as usual even after I welcomed one more family member to our space. Actually my daughter is still very small, not even a toddler, so she doesn’t make a mess by herself.

“Yet my life has been changed dramatically after her arrival. She needs me all the time even when I have urgent tasks to be done. Now I am a self-employed working mother with multiple tasks all the time.

“But for now, it doesn’t really change my approach to tidying. I feel the most happiness when I am folding baby clothing. That is one of the best relaxing times for me now.”

Judging by her successes to date, her mission to “organise the world” is one she may well accomplish.